The Promises & Perils of Public Apologies

Francis’s apology on July 25 at the powwow grounds south of Edmonton, Alberta, in Maskwacis went beyond what has been given by Catholic leaders of the past. He was sorry, he told the audience, which included many former Inuit, Metis, and other First Nations students at the residential schools: “Sorry for the ways in which, regrettably, many Christians supported the colonizing mentality of the powers that oppressed the Indigenous peoples. I am sorry. I ask forgiveness, in particular, for the ways in which many members of the Church and of religious communities cooperated, not least through their indifference, in projects of cultural destruction and forced assimilation promoted by the governments of that time, which culminated in the system of residential schools.” Read Full Article »